Ford plans to cut 1,150 jobs in Britain, union says

LONDON -- Ford plans to cut 1,150 jobs in Britain, the Unite union said, with nearly 1,000 job losses at its Bridgend engine plant in Wales.

On Thursday, Ford said it will cut thousands of jobs, look at plant closures and discontinue money-losing vehicle lines as part of a turnaround effort for its European business, and would start consultations with unions on the plans.

The plan will involve concentrating on profit-making SUVs and commercial vehicles and cutting unprofitable model lines, thought to refer the Galaxy and S-Max large minivans.

Unite said it will oppose compulsory layoffs. The union will also and campaign strongly for Bridgend to have a viable future," Des Quinn, automotive spokesman at Unite, said in a statement on Friday.

Ford is ending production at a transmissions plant in Bordeaux, France, and has started labor talks at its Saarlouis factory in Germany where 6,190 staff build vehicles as it considers ending production of the C-Max compact van.

Just under half of Ford's 50,000 European workforce is employed in Germany. The German Economy Ministry is in talks with the automaker over its planned job cuts in Europe, a spokeswoman said on Friday.